Baseball Toaster: Bronx Banter : With A Lidle Luck They Can Pull Ervin

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With A Lidle Luck They Can Pull Ervin

2006-08-26 10:34

by Cliff Corcoran

I know I used the first half of that headline the last time Cory Lidle pitched, but Lidle did go out and throw six scoreless innings against the Red Sox in the final game of the massacre that day, so forgive me for going back to the well as the Yankees look to even their series with the Angels at one game a piece.

Save for the one time he took the mound with a stomach virus, Lidle has tossed three quality starts in his four Yankee appearances, considering the fact that he was acquired to fill a spot in the rotation that hadn't received a quality start since May 6, the Yankees can't have asked for much more. The curious footnote to that is that that one poor outing, though it did come while he was sick, also came against the Angels.

Ervin Santana takes the hill for the Angels. He last faced the Yankees in his season debut back on April 8 and held a very different team to one run on two hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. Since then, the 23-year-old Santana has developed a Chien-Ming Wang like home/road split, which is troubling for both Santana and the Yankees. In Anaheim this year, Santana is 7-2 with a 2.83 ERA a 1.08 WHIP and a .218 batting average against. He's also been mighty stingy with the long ball, allowing just five home runs in 89 innings at home (that's 0.51 per nine innings). In fact, Santana's had just one poor outing at home all year, that coming against the White Sox back on April 30 when he lasted seven innings, walked one, and struck out four, but also allowed five runs on eight hits.

I'll make a bold prediction: there's no way the Yankees will be able to win today without a contribution from Mariano Rivera.

Comments (409)

Show/Hide Comments 1-50

2006-08-26 11:00:04

1. mehmattski

I'll step up and make the first comment, a prediction: 7-4 Yankees, Rivera gets to pad his save total with a gimme. Yay.

2006-08-26 11:07:13

2. SF Yanks

I think it will be more along the lines of 4-3 Yanks.

2006-08-26 11:54:01

3. randym77

This is the game I was most confident of winning going into this series. Jaret Wright has been unreliable lately, and I'm not expecting too much of the Karstens kid. But Lidle's been pretty solid.

2006-08-26 11:57:08

4. Cliff Corcoran

3 Curious, as Santana at home has been better than either Lackey or Saunders.

2006-08-26 12:00:29

5. randym77

4 Eh. Santana's not an URP, he don't scare me. ;-)

And I'm more concerned about our starting pitching than our hitting. The offense is fine. It's starting pitching and defense I wonder about.

2006-08-26 12:16:35

6. randym77

Holy guacamole, he finally did it!

Damon CF
Rodriguez 3B
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Williams DH
Cabrera LF
Fasano C

2006-08-26 12:20:14

7. randym77

And here's the Angels:

Chone Figgins CF
Maicer Izturis 3B
Orlando Cabrera SS
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Garret Anderson LF
Juan Rivera RF
Howie Kendrick 1B
Adam Kennedy 2B
Mike Napoli C

2006-08-26 12:24:09

8. Sliced Bread

6 Interesting. I'd shake it up even more and switch Cano and Rodriguez.
Bernie at DH? What can you do? Let's go Bernie!!!

2006-08-26 12:27:00

9. randym77

8 Bernie at DH is a heck of a lot better than Bernie in CF or RF!

2006-08-26 12:35:33

10. mehmattski

Damn, I realized that the local FOX station isn't carrying the Yankees game. What was that mlb.tv fix I heard so much about? Will it work if this is a nationally televised game? Help!

2006-08-26 12:40:10

11. Sliced Bread

9 Somebody has to convice Joe that Bernie's feet could suffer a severe allergic reaction from making contact with turf,and that shoes and socks aren't enough to prevent it.

2006-08-26 13:14:55

12. randym77

A-Rod is looking really messed up at the plate these days.

2006-08-26 13:15:30

13. kdw

Anyone watching the game, how did the Damon and A-Rod at-bats look?

2006-08-26 13:16:10

14. JPost

Juan almost dropped that ball damn

2006-08-26 13:17:38

15. Tarheel

Here we go again with Arod. Fastball strike one, fastball strike two, slider low and away strike three. I think I could pitch to this guy.

2006-08-26 13:19:02

16. Sliced Bread

13 Damon just missed a double before he K'ed, A-Rod's flatout illin'.

2006-08-26 13:19:13

17. randym77

A-Rod looks lost at the plate. He's guessing. And not very well.

2006-08-26 13:22:49

18. JPost

I said the same crap last night, just forget about it. The dude is in a slump, a 2 year old could notice it by now. Just keep it to your damn self, the guy has 93 RBIS and we make it seem like he's pullin' a Carl Pavano on the Yankee fan base. It's almost at the point now that if we continue to bitch about it nothing will change. Let him figure it out himself, he made it to the big leagues, none of you did.

2006-08-26 13:23:09

19. kdw

16 Thanks.

2006-08-26 13:24:44

20. randym77

Well, it appears my faith in "American Lidle" was misplaced. :-P

2006-08-26 13:25:19

21. Tarheel

18 I did.

2006-08-26 13:29:11

22. randym77

That could have been worse. Heart of the order coming up. Let's go, Yankees!

2006-08-26 13:29:30

23. JPost

yeah i'm sure you did Tarheel and my name is Alex Rodriguez. I'm blogging from third base at the moment.

2006-08-26 13:29:37

24. Stormer Sports

Actually, last night it was the breaking ball that got him to 0-2, not the fastball.

2006-08-26 13:30:58

25. Tarheel

23 I did.

2006-08-26 13:31:28

26. Tarheel

23 I did.

2006-08-26 13:32:18

27. JPost

fucking idiots.

2006-08-26 13:33:23

28. Eric

26 Prove it!

2006-08-26 13:33:42

29. Stormer Sports

Poor Juan, he just wants to prove to the Yankees that they made a mistake bailing on him.

2006-08-26 13:35:33

30. Stormer Sports

What is with the individual bottles of Gatorade this year? Their glutonous lifestyle doesn't damage the environment enough already?

2006-08-26 13:35:43

31. randym77

23 Well, "Alex," if it's going to bother you to read critical things about yourself, maybe you should just avoid Yankees sites for awhile.

It's not like we have brainless A-Rod bashers here. No one's demanding that we trade him for a bag of baseballs, or saying we should call him K-Rod because he has more strikeouts than Francisco Rodriguez does.

He's struggling, and we're discussing that. It's unreasonable to expect us not to.

Especially when many of those here log in because they can't watch the game. They want descriptions of what's going on. Are we supposed to lie and say he hit a homer when he struck out?

2006-08-26 13:37:28

32. Tarheel

31 Exactly.

2006-08-26 13:39:15

33. Alvaro Espinoza

31 I'd offer an opinion but I never played major league baseball.

2006-08-26 13:39:44

34. kdw

Speaking of logging in because you can't see the game, could you tell from the replay whether Abreu was safe at 2d?

2006-08-26 13:41:10

35. seamus

31 well, there is a difference between saying a guy struck out and looked bad doing it and claiming he sucks and is mentally deranged and all sorts of things that some, and certainly not all, folks post. It is the insult oriented commentary that bugs me, but i stay because of the good substance in between.

2006-08-26 13:41:46

36. randym77

Maybe Melky should play a little deeper.

2006-08-26 13:41:51

37. Tarheel

28 Of course I didn't. People around here can't take a joke.

Lighten up

2006-08-26 13:41:52

38. Stormer Sports

Yes he was. Mikey S. just bitches for the sake of bitching. He always has.

Oh boy. Come on Corey! We need you because we can't score runs against this club.

2006-08-26 13:42:25

39. seamus

kendrick is a good hitter. just crushes the ball.

2006-08-26 13:43:37

40. randym77

35 I honestly haven't seen that here. At other Yankees boards, yes. It's unbearable. But here? We've been the Alex Rodriguez Defense Brigade here. That doesn't mean we can't admit that he's struggling, and seems to be feeling the pressure.

2006-08-26 13:44:39

41. Tarheel

40 The worst is the YES network message boards.

2006-08-26 13:45:38

42. seamus

40 i've definitely seen it here. that killbilly is way over the top, or whatever his name is. but yes, compared to some places, this place is good.

2006-08-26 13:46:10

43. Sliced Bread

34 Throw beat him, and it looked to me like he got tagged in the helmet before his feet hit the bag, but he made a nice hard slide and held on. In other words, he looked safe, but I don't think he was. I figure 7 out of 10 umps would have called him out because the throw beat him, but Abreu really made a good slide.

2006-08-26 13:46:27

44. JPost

i just find it ironic that the same assholes who jump on him as soon as he makes an out are the same ones who give him the standing ovation when he does well.

2006-08-26 13:46:28

45. randym77

41 There are some good posters at YES, but a lot of them seem to be 12 year old kids with very short memories. They are ready to tar and feather Craig Wilson now, and are demanding Andy be played instead. Never mind that two weeks ago, they were saying Andy sucks and should be DFA'd.

2006-08-26 13:46:32

46. kdw

38 Thanks.

2006-08-26 13:47:43

47. kdw

43 Thanks.

2006-08-26 13:49:22

48. rbj

Maybe, just maybe, Alex is still sick from whatever bug he's had. Even with him having a down year by his standards, he's really only slightly behind Troy Glaus in terms of production for AL 3B.

Man I hate Fox, why don't I get this game on tv.

2006-08-26 13:50:39

49. randym77

42 I don't think Killabilli is that bad. S/he's critical of A-Rod, yes, but not one of the mindless bashers. If s/he were talking that way about any other player, I doubt anyone would care. They'd just figure s/he didn't care for the player. Big deal. But nothing's that simple when A-Rod is involved.

2006-08-26 13:51:07

50. JPost

The worst is the retards who don't know that Andy is on the DL and is calling for Joe to start him.

Show/Hide Comments 51-100

2006-08-26 13:51:52

51. kdw

48 One of my pet peeves with Fox -- if a game's not being shown in my area, and they should be able to tell, then let me get it over the internet, which wouldn't hurt Fox.

2006-08-26 13:52:52

52. randym77

50 And the ones who are demanding that Joe start Miguel Cairo instead of Nick Green.

2006-08-26 13:54:20

53. Eric

Fasano looked hilarious running down the line, his belly was bouncing all over the place.

2006-08-26 13:55:58

54. alterity

41 YEs posters are mostly idiots. They all bitch about Goldman, but it seems to me that they never read the articles, or at least try to understand them. They're all, "Stats can mean anything" people (probably from watching Michael Kay).

2006-08-26 13:56:36

55. JPost

ARod and Jeter are on that list for the trivia question. Prob Bernie too.

2006-08-26 13:58:39

56. mehmattski

Looks like Santana didn't get the memo... just throw down the middle, he'll swing and miss...

2006-08-26 13:59:08

57. randym77

A flyout instead of a strikeout or groundout. A good sign, maybe?

2006-08-26 14:00:22

58. kdw

55 What's the question?

2006-08-26 14:01:39

59. Sliced Bread

For those who didn't see it, A-Rod had two good swings in that at-bat. His lineout to center was off a sweet swing, actually, just missed it. Props to Santana for putting enough movement on his pitches to keep the Yanks in the park.
That was a good at-bat for A-Rod to build on. Contact.

2006-08-26 14:03:09

60. Sliced Bread

59 make that to left, not center.

2006-08-26 14:06:45

61. Mattpat11

Its sad that things have gotten to the point where we're prasing contact.

2006-08-26 14:07:37

62. Alvaro Espinoza

Nice throw by Sal Mustache to get Cabrera (who looked safe).

2006-08-26 14:09:04

63. Alvaro Espinoza

2B ump is firmly in the "If-the-throw-beats you-you're-out" camp.

2006-08-26 14:09:41

64. rbj

61 I did the same thing when Jeter was going through his horrendous slump, what 2 years ago?

2006-08-26 14:10:25

65. seamus

63 i think cabrera was out, but i also thought abreu was out! :)

2006-08-26 14:13:39

66. Alvaro Espinoza

65 One thing is for sure: both plays were very close.

2006-08-26 14:15:17

67. Sliced Bread

A-Rod's contact would not be worth mentioning had he not K'ed 9 times in his previous 11 at-bats. Praise be to contact, solid contact at that, in this case.

2006-08-26 14:15:49

68. Tarheel

What is the chance the Yankees can come back against this guy?

2006-08-26 14:18:02

69. Sliced Bread

68 They can wear him down. He can make a mistake pitch. He's got a lot of late movement today, which doesn't help.

2006-08-26 14:18:45

70. Alvaro Espinoza

68 What are the chances that Lidle can hold them to 3-1?

2006-08-26 14:19:11

71. Tarheel

Why do most non-red sox pitchers have career days against NY?

2006-08-26 14:20:16

72. randym77

67 And he got the ball in the air. Several analysts have noted that he's hitting a lot more groundballs and a lot fewer flyballs than he used to. That's why he can't get a runner in from 3B with less than two outs. So getting it on the air in a good sign, IMO.

2006-08-26 14:22:52

73. Tarheel

72 I still think that playing the majority of the year with little or no protection behind him has really hurt. He just isn't getting a whole lot to hit (except on this west coast trip, it seems). He has been swinging at alot of crap this year just trying to make things happen.

2006-08-26 14:23:14

74. KBT

Giambi is the slowest human on earth.

2006-08-26 14:23:46

75. Tarheel

74 I don't know, I think he may be able to beat Fasano in a race.

2006-08-26 14:24:23

76. Alvaro Espinoza

[73} Not sure if I agree w/ the protection point but you are right about his pitch selection. It has been terrible all year.

2006-08-26 14:24:30

77. randym77

73 Torre said that's why he moved A-Rod to the two-hole. To give him some protection, and hopefully some better pitches to hit.

And Bernie got a hit off the righty...

2006-08-26 14:24:41

78. KBT

Here we go, baby!

2006-08-26 14:25:01

79. Sliced Bread

Cano's funky, man. That's the 2nd time in the past few days that he dove for the slider outside and got a hit. Undisciplined, but Kinda Ichiro'esque.

Yay, Melky 3-2!

2006-08-26 14:26:03

80. randym77

Way to kill a rally, Sal.

2006-08-26 14:26:20

81. KBT

Sal was swinging for the fence. That dude makes me laugh just looking at him.

2006-08-26 14:26:21

82. Tarheel

Is that Stinnet behind that mustache?

2006-08-26 14:26:45

83. Stormer Sports

My kingdom for a big hit post-Boston.

2006-08-26 14:27:26

84. KBT

83 No shite!

2006-08-26 14:29:29

85. KBT

Can Lidle break the 90mph mark?

2006-08-26 14:30:16

86. randym77

82 No. Stinnett's a better hitter.

Seriously.

Stinnett's average with runners on: .344

Fasano's average with runners on: .217

2006-08-26 14:30:21

87. Tarheel

I wish that XM would let you chose which broadcast to listen to. These Angel guys suck.

2006-08-26 14:32:09

88. Sliced Bread

Did I hear Stinnett's on the Mets now or was I dreaming?

85 Maybe if the mound was a few feet higher, and he had a tailwind behind him.

2006-08-26 14:32:44

89. seamus

86 umm, i'm getting under .200 for stinnet with RISP.

2006-08-26 14:32:46

90. KBT

Grrr, I freakin hate the halos.

2006-08-26 14:33:11

91. randym77

88 Yup. Stinnett's a Met now.

2006-08-26 14:33:19

92. Stormer Sports

Where are all those folks who were calling for the end of interleague play and the unbalanced schedule?

You really want to play these west coast teams more often? Ugh!

2006-08-26 14:33:54

93. Tarheel

Yankee pitching has looked pretty bad lately. I would love to have a 123 inning for a change.

2006-08-26 14:34:02

94. Stormer Sports